Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for July 3-8

Health care and the fight against the wealthcare of the Senate bill still fills up our agenda. Plus chapter reports and the past week's blog posts. And have a happy Fourth, a day on which independence from remote and greedy power was hopefully proclaimed.

Welcome To the Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo For July 3-8

It’s still all about healthcare, and plenty to do. See the dispatches here from our health care organizer Beth Landry – and her vigorous speech to a Capitol Hill rally last Thursday, when it was all on the line.

Here at Progressive Maryland and the Maryland for Guaranteed Healthcare campaign, we are cautiously optimistic with the revelation a few days ago that the Better Care Reconciliation Act -- i.e. the "wealthcare" bill in the Senate -- did not garner enough support, forcing the vote on the bill to be postponed! Certainly, the fact that the CBO score released analyzing the impact showed 22 million Americans would lose coverage didn't help the bill, either.

Senators from Maryland and all across the nation heard from advocates like YOU, and several came out in opposition to the bill because of your phone calls, your letters, your participation in direct actions and more.

Not just Senators are expressing their opposition. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu expressed his concerns over the bill and its effects on his state, especially with dealing with the opioid crisis. With Maryland recently being found to have the highest emergency visits nationwide related to opiates, we are wondering why Governor Hogan hasn't declared outright he does not support this bill.

All Action Can Be Local -- Those of us within commuting distance of Capitol Hill don’t need to wait for mass national actions; we should find plenty of allies every day letting the legislators and the world know that the vast majority of Americans are totally against the GOP’s naked attempt to take money from working and poor families to give a tax cut to their wealthy friends.

There are millions of people across the country who wish they had the opportunity to speak out in the heart of power that we do. We should not let them down.

What Progressive Maryland is doing: Staying on top of the Senate bill that would strip nearly one million Marylanders of their healthcare. In coordination with the rally on Capitol Hill, District 1 residents on the Eastern Shore gathered outside Rep. Andy Harris’s office to protest his role in healthcare repeal and share personal stories about how healthcare repeal will impact them and their families. The pressure has already led Governor Larry Hogan to begin distancing himself from his party’s healthcare plan, though he has not said what if anything he will do to protect Maryland families at risk of losing lifesaving care. This fight is far from over and we need volunteers who are willing to help support the campaign. If that's you, sign up here .

And our regular blogger Hal Ginsberg has penned an op-ed in the WaPo about the severe impact the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act will have on Montgomery County, where he lives and blogs.

AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate compact to which Maryland belongs (NY, the New England states and Delaware are also in it), gets revenue (a fee, not a tax!) from carbon-producing power plants and uses it to help impacted communities with retrofitting, bill assistance and workforce training. Maryland’s membership is coming up and Gov. Hogan is making noises about pulling out unless Maryland’s greenhouse gas reduction goals are loosened. Contact him and say that ain’t gonna happen. The Sierra Club has a way to do that.

Conference Call: How to Canvass for Healthcare With Progressive Maryland's launch of their Maryland for Guaranteed Healthcare Campaign, we are going to be reaching out to anyone and everyone around the state by canvassing for healthcare! We want to spread the word on how important being able to receive healthcare is, and hear what people have to say on why healthcare is important to them.

Sign up for our conference call to learn how or get a refresher on how to canvass, with some additional information on specifically canvassing for healthcare and details related to the campaign.

In towns and neighborhoods across the country, we hold conversations with voters about the issues of the day and the world we’re fighting to build. We train volunteers to knock on the doors of neighbors and transform their communities into a force at the polls. We ask candidates tough questions and secure policy commitments. If you are interested in being part of this movement of transformational canvassing, please reach out to Amanya Paige, our amazing intern: amanyapaige@gmail.com

We are looking for a point person for each County Council District. This team will mobilize when needed to advocate with their councilperson on a progressive issue, or to support new candidates for the office. If you are interested in this, please reach to Diane Teichert, County Council Lead revdteichert@gmail.com.

Progressive HoCo – tonight’s the night (Monday, July 3) for an override of the County Executive’s veto of the voter-approved Fair Elections implementing ordinance. Be there tonight, 7 p.m., for early fireworks. See Dave Bazell’s blog post, which is also below on this page, for details.

It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here.

BLOG POSTS THIS WEEK

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at woodlanham@gmail.com

Progressive Maryland health care organizer Beth Landry brought to a rally on Capitol Hill the devastating effect of GOP health care plans on the state's patients and their caregivers -- all for a huge tax cut giveaway to the rich. In her speech June 28 she sums up "This bill is literally a death sentence."

On Monday, July 3, the Howard County council in legislative session is expected to override County Executive Allan Kittleman's veto of the Citizens' Election Fund legislation, Council Bill 30 (CB30). This action will reinforce what the people of Howard County voted for in November 2016 when they passed Question A. Question A mandated the formation of the Citizens' Election Fund and the enabling law was passed by a 4-1 vote in council on June 5 of this year.

Progressive HoCo activist Dave Bazell outlines the possible futures of this good law.

A SPECIAL WEEKLY MEMO -- “This is it," says analyst Bob Borosage of People's Action. "The Senate has to decide on health care. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a Thursday vote on the Senate plan that will deprive millions of Americans of health care coverage, and raise premiums to tens of millions more." More from Borosage below, but his main message is the need for immediate action.

Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace since June 2015 are all available with descriptions and links here.